Yes, There's an Algorithm for How Much to Spend on Mom

Your holiday shopping budget, solved

By Kirk Miller

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15 November 2016

This year, spend less on loved ones.

And a major shopping site is gonna help you do just that, thanks to an algorithm and Facebook.

Jet.com, the Amazon competitor recently purchased by Wal-Mart for $3 billion, has devised a holiday-themed “Careculator” that uses your interactions on social media to gauge the amount of money you should spend on gifts.

It’s “turning the modern-day social currency of likes, loves, and shares into the currency for Xmas spending,” to hear one Jet exec describe it. Or, the more people interact with you online, the more they deserve.

While Jet freely admitted to Fast Company this is little more than a viral campaign — and the Careculator oh so helpfully selects gifts exclusively from Jet.com — it does provide a bit of insight into our potential holiday spending.

The girlfriend, who is “totally in like with me,” gets $41.56 in gifts.

My co-worker, who “likes” quite a bit of my posts, deserves $42.28.

My close guy friend, who “clearly sort of likes me,” deserves $17.36.

And my parents aren’t on Facebook. So they get nothing ... except my love for staying off of Facebook and away from viral campaigns.